


The Black Widow

by TaraHarkon



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), The Wolf Spider, itsy bitsy spider, no Brutasha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 12:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4180035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha always knew she wasn't the only girl trained by the Red Room, but she never told her new teammates. Now they have to learn more about the former-assassin they call friend and her past on the job, or else...</p><p>This is basically my attempt at writing a Black Widow movie in a way that I would like to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Steve

He had been watching her for hours, trying to decide how to approach this. He’d waited until everyone else had left the training room for the night, making sure they were completely alone before he approached the assassin. In hindsight, that probably hadn’t been the smartest thing he’d ever done. She dismounted from the balance beam and grinned up at him.  
“Its Friday night, Rogers. Why you still here?”  
It was the same kind of conversation, the same kind of teasing, but he didn’t fall into the comfortable patterns.  
“Where’s Natasha?”  
She blinked once and crossed her arms over her chest, smiling at him like he was a little simple.  
“Steve…I’m right here. Eyesight finally going? I mean, you’re what…almost a hundred?”  
He shifted his feet just slightly, starting to fall into a fighting stance as subtly as he could.  
“I could almost believe you. I want to believe you. But I know Nat and you’re not her.”  
She moved faster than he could have believed was possible, at least if he hadn’t known Nat. Time spent training with the feisty red head was the only reason he managed to block her first few attacks, but she was fighting dirty even by Natasha’s fairly loose standards. He felt something prick his skin and within seconds his vision was blurring. His knees buckled and he dropped to the floor.  
“I’m surprised, Captain. Out of anyone, I would have thought it would have been Barton. Maybe the Maximoff girl, but all I had to do was look pathetic and ask her nicely not to go inside my head.”  
Her hand went to her face and she pulled something off it, almost like spiderwebbing. He’d seen one before…an electrostatic veil. Natasha had used one once. The wig followed it to the floor and he stared up at this strange blonde, trying to figure out who she was.  
“Farewell, Captain. I’m going to leave you alive and even let you look for your itsy-bitsy spider. Its more fun that way.”  
Then in a flash, she was gone out the back door and as the world went dark, he heard a motorcycle revving up. His last thought before he hit the floor was that he hoped it wasn’t his bike.

\--

“Steve?”  
He groaned, rolling to his back and tried to get his eyes to focus. Wanda. It was Wanda kneeling beside him with a scared look on her face. Everything hurt and his muscles weren’t entirely keen on obeying him, but he managed to get his words out.  
“Where…where’s Natasha?”


	2. Natasha

Reading through the file one more time, Natasha grinned a wolf’s grin.   
“You get me the best surprises, Nick.”  
She slid the files across the table to him and he smiled, tucking them back into his bag.  
“When I heard that he’d been spotted, I thought of you. Are you going to tell the team?”  
Natasha shook her head and took a sip of her soda.  
“Not this time. He’s too dangerous and you know Steve would want to come.”  
Fury nodded.  
“I’ll keep an eye on things here just in case. Try not to take too long.” 

———

2 Weeks Later 

Walking down the street with a coffee, the red head paused for a moment to look at cookies in the window of a bakery. The food looked good, especially the pryaniki _._ She could always come back here after she was done and pick up a few dozen for Wanda and the boys. Goodness knows, Sam and Steve would each need their own dozen. The thought tugged a little smile onto her face and she let it, but she didn’t let it distract her. The target was still moving, so she casually followed along. There was a newspaper stand a bit further up the street. That would be a good place to stop. The man was turning into a café. It was a stroke of luck. Or at least that was what she thought until she spotted the headlines on one of the national papers. 

**“Notoriously Anti-Avengers Senator Assassinated. Captain America Refuses Comment.”**

Blinking at it a few times, she bought the paper. She wouldn’t be able to read the article until much later, of course, she had her job here to deal with first. Then she could read through the article and find out at least some of what was going on at home. She tucked it into her bag and gave the man a nod and a little smile.  
“Thanks.” 

The sun was high in the sky; light coming in through the cracks in the stained windows. Natasha moved silently through the catwalks of the old factory. She could see her mark below. Melchor Vicario was a petty arms dealer, not the kind of thing that normally showed up on her radar. However, the man he was meeting with was. Niko Constantin, the Wolf Spider. He was nearly as deadly as she was and madder than a hatter. It was almost surreal, seeing him in person for the first time since she was a teenager. His hair was the same red as hers but there was a madness in his eyes. He was taller than her and heavily muscled, but he moved with the same dancer’s grace that she did. Measuring up, she knew she would have to take him from range. Anything closer and he would be able to get the upper hand. But that wasn’t just yet. Step one was finding out what he was doing. Then she could bait a trap. His eyes darted around the factory, taking in every shift of shadow, every flicker of light. Vicario smiled nervously and extended his hand.  
“Its good to finally meet you, Wolf Spider.”  
Constantin didn’t shake, didn’t even move his hand.  
“Did you bring it?”  
“The blueprints are all in here.”  
Natasha watched as Vicario held up a flash drive and she sighed. She knew perfectly well where this was going.  
“Encrypted?”  
“Of course not, I followed your instructions to the letter. Do you have my payment?”  
Constantin’s lips formed something like a smile and he reached into his pocket.  
“Yeah, I’ve got it right here.”  
Seconds later, six shots rang out and Vicario fell to the cement. Constantin pocketed the drive and then he strode out the back door. Natasha grimaced and waited until he was clear before climbing down to check through Vicario’s pockets in case he had anything on him to show what he’d been carrying, or in case he’d been carrying a backup. 

Later that night after a long shower, Natasha settled down in her hotel bed to go through the flash drive she’d found in a hidden pocket of Vicario’s pants and finally read the paper she’d bought earlier that day. Priority went to the drive, of course, but the paper should be a quick read so she did that first. But as she started reading the details, alarms started going off in her mind. Signs of electrocution, strangled, the room was locked from the inside, no open windows, no signs of forced entry. In short, there was no evidence. It was exactly how she would have done it. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little worried this one is a bit dialogue heavy. I don't currently have a beta reader, so its just me doing the editing. I hope its alright.  
> \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve struggled to see around the medic, trying to get a look at the display on the opposite wall. It was a news broadcast, and for some reason the red hourglass Natasha had on her uniform was on the screen next to the news anchor. Unfortunately, the sound had been muted and he couldn’t see the subtitles because the medic was in the way.  
“Captain Rogers, if you can’t hold still, I will sedate you.”  
Steve frowned at the medic and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“I’ve already gotten that treatment once today, thanks.”  
She glared at him and he stopped trying to crane around to see the displays.  
“Which is precisely why you’re sitting here. Until we’re certain what she dosed you with, you’re not moving.”  
He clenched his jaw, eyes flashing dangerously.  
“You don’t understand-“ he started, only to be cut off again.  
“I understand perfectly well, Captain, and until we’re certain you’re not going to drop dead, you are not going anywhere.”  
“But Natasha-“  
The medic shoved him back down before Steve had even realized he’d started to get to his feet.  
“Can wait, Captain. She’s a big girl and she can take care of herself.”  
The door opened and Wanda stepped in, an uncertain look on her face.  
“We have bigger problems, Steve.” She gave the medic a nod and kept going. “The assassination that’s on the news? I ran it by Clint and he confirmed, that’s Natasha’s style.”  
Steve scrubbed his face with his palms, trying not to lose his temper. Why was everyone turning against Natasha? Hadn’t he just proven that-? No…he hadn’t gotten to brief the team yet. Dammit.  
“It wasn’t her.”  
Wanda held out the report to him, trying not to show the emotions going through her. She knew perfectly well how Natasha operated and had seen what was in her mind. Steve glared at her and snatched the folder from her.  
“It. Wasn’t. Nat.” Turning to the medic, he held up the papers. “If I promise to stay in the base, can I please go brief my team?”  
She sighed and rubbed her temples. Then she got right in his face. He pulled back a little, startled.  
“Fine, but at the first sign of anything wrong, you come back here.”  
“Yes, ma’am.”

\---------------

Sam, Wanda, The Vision and Rhodes all sat at the conference table in their war room, uncomfortably aware of the fact that Natasha’s seat was currently occupied by someone else. Clint Barton had turned up, quiver in hand, the moment he’d seen the news. Steve stood at the head of the table, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check. What day was it? Friday. He was supposed to meet Natasha for a movie tonight. But was that really Natasha he’d made the date with? How long had this other woman been disguised as his partner? Had…had it been that woman the entire time? No. He cut off that line of thought violently. There was no way. He would have known, dammit.  
“Alright, everyone. You probably noticed that we have a situation. It gets more…complicated.”


	4. Chapter 4

Her espresso was starting to get cold. Not that it mattered, of course. It wasn’t a very good one, in the grand scheme of coffee, and she hadn’t really cared about it for any purpose other than getting caffeine into her system. Constantin was inside the small internet cafe across the street and she was starting to wonder if maybe she shouldn’t just take him out now. This was the longest he’d been still in the last two days and she knew she needed to get home soon. She ran through the names and faces in her mind, watching the door to see if he left. Twenty-seven possibilities. No…that wasn’t right. Her mind burned as she tried to focus past the conditioning, past the ballet school. She knew girls had broken, had died. Which ones? Who was left? The pain was getting bad enough that her eyes were watering when she finally had to stop. Flickers of memory, nothing more. Nothing she could use.   
 _Pay attention, Natalia. A moment of inattention means a mission failed.  
_ Natasha winced at the memory long forgotten and tried to push it down. Scanning the street, she winced. He was gone. Setting her cup aside, she stood, running through the safe houses she was aware of him using. She would have to track him down again. The streets were already bustling, even this early in the morning, and she moved through the crowds like a local, only periodically glancing into storefronts. That was until she spotted the news playing in the front display of an electronics store.  
“You heard me right, ladies and gentlemen, the Avenger heroine known as the Black Widow is wanted in connection to the death of Senator-“  
She just stood there for a moment, trying to process what she was hearing. She looked around to see if anyone else was watching the report and then focused on it again.  
“One of our reporters tried to get a word with Captain America about this sudden change in his teammate. Lets go to her now.”  
The scene changed to right outside of the Avengers facility and Natasha winced. A petite brunette with a microphone was trying to harass Steve, who clearly had been out for his morning jog to judge by his outfit.  
“Captain America, we’d just like to ask you a few questions about the Black Widow and your thoughts on her being a suspect in an assassination. Do you think she’s backslid into her old ways? Do you believe she poses a danger? What do you think should be done about this? Will the Avengers be hunting her?”  
Steve’s face was growing angrier and angrier, but it was a subtle anger. The corners of his mouth going tight, a subtle change in his breathing. The reporter didn’t notice a thing.  
“No. Comment.”  
Then he turned and went in the nearest door.  
“Well, you heard it hear folks. All is not well in the new Avengers facility. I’m going to keep trying to get an interview, but until then, back to you.”  
It transitioned back to the anchor desk and a photograph of her standing with the rest of the team came up on the screen. She turned then to walk back to her hotel room. _The first rule of going on the run is: don’t run. Walk._ She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered teaching all of this to Steve, but then the smile vanished from her face. Steve. What must he be thinking right now? And Clint? Dammit. Closing the door to her room behind her, she changed quickly. Picking up her bags, Natalie Rushman walked down to the lobby and asked the man at the desk if he could call her a cab to the airport. Despite the calm and almost flirty demeanor, her mind was racing through her contacts. She had to warn them before this other Black Widow got close to her team, and had to avoid getting caught. It would make the mission difficult.

 

* * *

 

Natasha had never been quite so glad that one of the perks of her cover as Natalie Rushman was a Stark Industries credit card. It seemed those had a magical power to produce plane tickets, especially if you subtly implied that Mr Stark would be very upset if she didn’t bring him the paperwork she was carrying. Now she sat in business class with an espresso vastly superior to her failed morning pick-me-up sitting on her tray while she went through the information she had. She would have to dig up files on this senator as soon as she could and find out what he had going on, other than trying to blame all the world’s problems on the Avengers, of course. Wondering idly if she could still use some of her old SHIELD contacts, she took a sip of her drink. Oh yes, much much better than the one that morning. There was also the question of what to do when she found this other woman, who was probably one of her…classmates. Another sip. She wouldn’t just be able to kill her. Not if she wanted to clear her name. That was bound to make things difficult though. Whoever this was would have no compunctions about killing her, except maybe as a means of keeping a cover in tact. Even then, she knew from experience it was easy enough to change those out. Glancing at her watch, she nodded. Half an hour until they were scheduled to arrive in DC. Half an hour to figure out how to break into the secure crime scene to look for evidence they wouldn’t know to look for.

 

* * *

 

“ _Now, now, Niko, everything is still going according to plan._ ”  
Even now, after so many years of being so many people, her Russian was flawless, he thought. But then, it would be. They had both been born there, raised there. Though, those had been very different times. Red times.   
“She was following me. I know it was her.”  
“ _And that changes nothing. Little Natalia is all alone and being hunted. She’ll be more than distracted while we work.”  
_ “As long as you’re sure.”  
He was fidgeting, pacing, toying with his gun. The scars on his face felt tight as he clenched his jaw.  
“ _Perfectly sure. Even her own team has turned on her.”  
_ “Except for the Captain.”  
He heard her click her tongue derisively.  
“ _Easily dealt with. I beat him once and I can do it again. Focus on your own part of the mission, Niko, and let me handle mine. Dos vidanya, Wolf Spider.”_  
“Proshchaniye, Yelena. Until we meet again.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Natasha kept her head in a book as she rode the subway through DC. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to her, not even the overly friendly police officer riding in the same train car. That was for the best. She couldn’t risk people paying too much attention to her. She needed to be a ghost. Just a glance around the train yielded far too many pictures of the Black Widow splashed all over the covers of newspapers and tabloids. There were a trio of teenage girls sitting nearby talking in hushed voices, an animated conversation that seemed to be centered around whatever was on one girl’s tablet.  
“I’m telling you, it couldn’t have been.”  
“Did you see how Captain America reacted though?”  
“Because it _wasn’t her_!”  
“I dunno, it could’ve been…”  
“Who else could it have been?”  
Who else indeed? Natasha sighed, turning the page in her book.  

* * *

He fidgeted with the cellphone in his hand, flipping it around over and over. Was there a number he could try? Did Fury know how to contact her? No. Nothing. Natasha was out in the world somewhere and all Steve Rogers could do was hope that he found the blond woman before the authorities found Natasha. He growled under his breath, moving to jam the phone back into his pocket and heard a snap. Looking down, he realized he’d put his thumb through the screen. Of course he had. It wasn’t as if his day could get worse. With a sigh, he mentally noted he’d need to talk to Tony about getting a reinforced phone. Then he went to go get his bike. Maybe it was time for some footwork.  
The other Avengers were already out, but they weren’t looking for the blond woman. They were looking for Natasha, for answers. There probably weren’t any answers. At least, not the kind of answers they thought they were looking for. He paused in the door to the garage. She’d been in here, hadn’t she? He remembered hearing a motorcycle rev up. The smile that crossed his face was one of relief. He had a lead now. Going to his bike, he was glad to see it was still there, but Natasha’s should have been parked right next to it. So, mystery woman had taken Nat’s motorcycle?  
A few minutes later, he was zipping down the road out of the compound, headset communicator on and shield slung on his back.  
“Maria, are you there?”  
“I’m here. What’s going on, Rogers?”  
“We put those trackers into Nat’s bike, right?”  
There was a bit of surprise in her voice when she confirmed.  
“Yeah, that’s right.”  
“Can you find it for me?”  
“Sure. I’ll have a location for you in a minute.”  
He smiled and took another turn. She would be in the capital somewhere, most likely.  

* * *

_They didn’t need to give an order. The girls knew to line up and then the first two stepped forward, pairing off to spar under the watchful eyes of their instructors. Natalia watched the others, mindful that she needed to learn how they moved and how to defeat each and every one of them. A blond girl around her age was watching her, measuring her and clearly finding her wanting. When they squared off, Natalia made sure the other girl would remember that she had lost._

The memory had been a distant one, just vaguely there. But it was enough. She knew who she was stalking now and she knew just how dangerous the woman was.

* * *

 

“Two blocks from your location, Rogers. It’s near the park.”  
“Got it. Thanks.”  
He pulled up at the other end of the block, planning to walk the rest of the way. He would prefer to be on his own two feet if there were any surprises. There was her bike, parked alongside a tree and with her helmet sitting on the seat. There was a bit of dew on the seat. Clearly, it had been there overnight. He didn’t hear the shot so much as feel it. Dropping to the pavement, he released his shield and rolled to grip it. The bullet slammed into the tree and he was running towards the building.  
“Send back up.”  
He could see the glint of a sniper’s scope in one of the upper floor windows. It was moments like this that he wished he had a faster way up than the stairs. Another shot rang out and he heard someone scream. Turning to look, his blood ran cold. Whoever the gunman was, they weren’t aiming at him anymore.   
“That back up? It’s urgent now.”  
At least there was a police officer headed to the scene in the park. That was one weight off his mind as he charged into the building to go find himself a gunman. 

* * *

The sound of boots pounding up the emergency stairs to the roof caught Yelena’s attention and she smiled slowly. So, the Soldier had come after his little spy after all. And Niko was leading him up here. It was time for another one of their little chats. She stretched absently, waiting for the door to slam open like she knew it would. Niko would have disappeared already and the Captain would come barreling through, leading with his shield. The moment Steve appeared, Yelena moved, kicking the bottom of his shield so it threatened to shoot up into his face. He corrected easily enough and tried to pivot to block her next shot. She was already behind him. The kick to his back knocked him to the ground and he rolled, getting his shield up between them.  
“Where’d your friend go? And where’s Natasha?”  
“Natalia won’t be joining us, Captain. I’m afraid she’s otherwise detained.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realized that I have a very hard time writing a coherent fight scene. I hope these came out alright and aren't too choppy.

“I spared you once, I have no reason to do it again.”  
Yelena Belova smiled slowly and predatorily as she aimed a handgun at his head. He kept his shield up and tried to think. If he moved quickly, he could possibly disarm her, or at least knock her down. But he knew she had a partner here somewhere. Instead, he tried a different tack.  
“Who are you?”  
“I’m the Black Widow.”  
“Nice try, but I know you’re not Natasha.”  
She moved in slightly closer, the pistol still trained on his forehead.  
“That’s not what I said, Captain Rogers. I said I’m the Black Widow. Your little spy is merely a pretender to the title.”  
The woman was distracted now, gloating in what she perceived as her victory. Steve surged upwards, slamming his shield hard into her arm. The pistol slipped from her grip and she cursed, trying to grab for him as he rolled to the side. She dodged the sweeping kick he aimed at her ankles and drew a pair of long knives as she rounded on him. He was on his feet quickly, shield up and ready for her next attack. Suddenly, something hard slammed into his head from behind and for the second time dealing with this woman, Steve Rogers slumped to the ground.  
Niko Constantin laughed coldly, lowering his rifle.  
“You would think that the Captain would have a harder head, stubborn as he is.”

 

* * *

 

Natasha made her way up to the top floor penthouse by climbing up the inside of the elevator shaft. It wasn’t like that was overly difficult for her, especially since the private elevator was being kept at the first floor. With the scene closed down, only the police were allowed up and unless they showed up to check on something, she would be alone. The view out of the large windows was breathtaking and she figured that was why the Senator had gotten this place. Then she grinned, recalling that the view from Tony’s place was quite a bit better. She shook her head a little, focusing. She had a mission. There had to be evidence, something, anything. Slowly, she walked through the crime scene, noting the evidence the police had already found. Wine glasses for two. So…she’d gotten in that way. But how had she left? And how hadn’t she been seen on the security cameras? There had been some inside the elevator, which implied that she hadn’t come up that way. Couldn’t have been the outside of the building…unless she came down from the roof. A few more rooms explored and Natasha smiled slowly. The skylight in the bathroom was open. Time to go play on the roof.

Hoisting herself up through the skylight hadn’t been hard at all and now Natasha was alone on the roof of the skyscraper. There was a lot of the usual, ventilation for the air system and an access door. There was a low ledge going the whole way around. Time to see just how Yelena had gotten up here. There were a few options, but figuring out which one it had been would answer a lot of questions Natasha had just now. First, she checked the access door. No signs that it had been opened, which made sense. No one would think to check up here and Yelena obviously hadn’t used the door. Next step, she scoured the area. Everything was clear. As a last thought, she went to where she would drop a parachute if she’d used one for entry. There it was, tucked safely inside one of the air conditioner systems, out of the way where no one would think to look. That meant one thing: Belova had a partner.   
“You know, little Natalia, I’m actually impressed.”  
The Russian was flawless and unaccented, but that was no surprise. Natasha turned quickly, moving out of the way of the attack she knew was coming. She rolled to her feet in a fluid motion and came up ready to fight. Two rounds had already slammed into the air conditioner and Yelena had tracked Natasha’s movement. The next round slammed into the spy’s shoulder as she tried to dodge. Superhuman speed she might have, but so did Yelena. She gritted her teeth against the pain, flicking one of her shock discs at Yelena. When Yelena dodged it, Natasha was already moving towards where the blond would be. She slammed forward, bringing both fists into contact with Yelena’s body as she activated her widow’s bite. The resulting jolt shook Yelena’s body hard, but she didn’t drop. Instead, she grabbed Natasha. The jolt surged through both of them. Between that and the pain in her shoulder, Natasha could feel the oncoming darkness. Rather than let it take her, she slammed her knee up between Yelena’s legs and took that momentary release to run. When she hit the low ledge around the edge of the building, she leapt into open air.

 


	7. Chapter 7

“So what you’re telling me is that not only did Little Red go rogue on us, but Captain Perfect chased off after her? Surprise surprise.”  
Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, most of his attention on the smartphone in his hand. Rhodey sighed and paused in his pacing.  
“You heard me, Tony. The team is out there looking for her, but-“  
“But you think I can do something to locate them faster than they can by… What are they doing? Just flying around looking for her? She’s a spy, not a natural disaster. You’re not going to just spot her from a flight path… Flight path…” It was as though something in Tony’s mind sparked to life and he flicked a screen from his phone into the air. “Friday, I need to see the credit charges for Natalie Rushman. It’s-“  
“A company card. Yes, I’ve got it, Boss.” The light lilting voice of the AI was cheerful as she spoke. “I’m putting it on the screen right now.”  
“Wonderful.” He glanced at it for a moment. “DC. She booked a plane ticket to DC.”  
“As of when?” Rhodey leaned in to look at the display and frowned. “Tony, this is this morning. She killed the Senator at least a day ago.”  
“The tech doesn’t lie, my friend. Not unless someone else is using her fake cover identity. Would that be someone pretending to be Ginger Snaps pretending to be a mild mannered Stark Industries employee? You know, we should consider that as a Halloween party theme. The many faces of Natasha Romanov. Make it a contest.”  
There was a long silence before James Rhodes spoke again.  
“Steve thinks someone _is_ pretending to be Natasha. That someone else killed the Senator. Clint disagrees, reluctantly.”  
Tony was already standing, fiddling with something on the touchscreen of his watch as he went.  
“I can look into it, or I can try to track her. Actually, no. I can do both.” A cocky grin crossed his face and he spread his arms out wide. “Friday, I’ve got more work for you.”

* * *

“You should be pleased, Captain.”  
Steve Rogers was really starting to hate this woman. His head was throbbing and he felt like he was going to throw up. He tried to open his eyes slowly and found that he wasn’t looking at the blond woman, but a red haired man instead. She was sitting off to the side, looking at something on a tablet.  
“What are you talking about? And where is Natasha?”  
“You’ve got a hell of a one track mind.” The man’s voice was rough as he spoke and some emotion that Steve really didn’t like the looks of the emotions that danced in his eyes. “I bet I know what this is. You think you’re special, don’t you? That she loves you. Do you know how many husbands and boyfriends Natalia Alianovna has had? How many she’s killed?”  
“Now, now, Niko. Leave the poor man his delusions. After all, one never knows. Maybe a cheetah can change her spots.”  
Steve strained, trying to move to punch Niko. Instead, he found that his wrists were cuffed together. He flexed hard, trying to force them open but they only stretched before contracting again.  
“I hope you don’t have plans to try and escape, Captain Rogers.” The woman stood now, coming over to stand in front of him. “After all, it would be a pity if I had to kill you before little Natalia gets here. To answer your question, Captain, you should be pleased because she’s still out there. It’s been a long time since she and I fought, but it seems you’ve taught her some new tricks. A pity for you that they won’t be good enough.”


End file.
